Can GEICO appeal this case "GEICO ordered to pay Missouri woman $5.2 million after she contracted STD in a car"?

Question

Can GEICO try to appeal this case "GEICO ordered to pay Missouri woman $5.2 million after she contracted STD in a car" ? What options does GEICO have regarding this case ?

The full story about this case is posted by CNN at this link:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/09/us/geico-insurance-std-settlement-missouri/index.html

(CNN) - A Missouri woman was awarded $5.2 million in a settlement from insurance company GEICO after contracting a sexually transmitted disease from her partner in his vehicle, which was insured by the company, court documents show. The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld that award this week.

The woman, a Jackson County resident, said she contracted Human papillomavirus (HPV) from her partner, according to court documents. On Tuesday, the Missouri Court of Appeals filed an opinion confirming the initial Jackson County Circuit Court arbitration award finding against GEICO.

Answer 1

Can GEICO try to appeal this case "GEICO ordered to pay Missouri woman $5.2 million after she contracted STD in a car"?

Probably, but there's probably not much likelihood of success since the state courts have apparently interpreted a 2017 law to that effect.

What options does GEICO have regarding this case?

GEICO has a pending suit in federal court, scheduled apparently for October, to determine whether the damages awarded in the state courts are in fact covered by the insured party's policy. If GEICO prevails in that suit, it won't have to pay. It was hoping to prevail in this suit to avoid the expense of litigating the federal suit, but that did not come to pass.

That suit is separate from the state litigation, not an appeal. The state litigation concerned the sexual partner's liability to the claimant, and the federal litigation concerns coverage; there are several potential reasons for its not being covered.